I got an Extra Year in School as a Result of Distraction- Kwemezi Ndidi Patrick, CEO/Founder Gospel Centric and Centric Buzz Digital Agency/Media Firm.

Hello, my name is Kwemezi Ndidi Patrick, I am a Media Consultant and the CEO/Founder Gospel Centric and Centric Buzz Digital Agency/Media Firm. I am from Edo State, Orhionmwon Local Government, precisely from Igbanke-Ottah. I attended Izevbigie Primary School, Benin City, and then proceeded to Immaculate Conception College, and then Oguola College both in Benin City. I attended the University of Benin, where I got a Diploma in Public Administration and also bagged a BA in English and Literature. Basically, I am a media consultant, consulting for companies, high profile personalities and political organisations. I am also a filmmaker, event manager, social media strategist, publicist, artist manager and a web designer.

THE GENESIS

It all started in 2006 after my diploma program, I had the desire to create a gospel entertainment brand that would showcase and promote gospel content generally. At that time, I felt the Gospel music industry in Nigeria was not getting the exposure it deserved. If you read through some of the magazines we had then, watched TV shows, and surfed the Internet, you would notice that Gospel artistes were not getting the recognition they deserved. Owing to this, I wanted to start up a gospel music magazine. When I did my research, I discovered it would cost me a whole lot to achieve then, and I was not having the financial strength to handle such a project. Few years later, I felt having a website to do that would be cheaper. This gave birth to Gospel Centric in 2012. So, here we are, the rest is history.

FUNDING

It took quite some time to go about executing my idea because I had the wrong notion that it would be very capital intensive. I however discovered that all I needed to do was to strategize and take all the right steps. The first step was to get a professional to interpret what I had in mind in terms of developing a website that would appeal to every one irrespective of race and culture. However, it took over one year for me to create the website. My aim was to create a brand that would accommodate both local and international lovers of gospel music. We are proud to say that we are the first indigenous Nigerian gospel entertainment platform that created a brand that featured contents from international artists as a lot of people thought we were a brand based in the United States. In fact, some people still think we are US based. We have featured contents from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil, Barbados, South Africa and many other countries. The project was not a capital-intensive project. Its something anyone who sets his/her mind on it can achieve.

COMBINING ACADEMICS AND WORK

It was quite challenging combining business and school because business was time consuming and schoolwork demanded a lot of time too. I had no choice but to try to be best of my ability to manage my time such that both business and schoolwork did not suffer. However, schoolwork suffered. I got an extra year in school as a result of distraction. When I finally graduated, I had all the time to focus on my business.

OFFICIALLY STARTED?

We started off officially on the 23rd of December 2012, precisely at 12pm.

WHAT MAKES GOSPEL CENTRIC DIFFERENT

Our brand is unique because of our capacity to accommodate both local and foreign contents. We also make it a priority to showcase contents that are appealing to gospel music lovers irrespective of race, culture and origin. Above all, our brand is a ministry that promotes every gospel music that speaks. What makes gospel music different is its ability to heal, edify and pass a message of hope.

PERSONAL CHALLENGES SO FAR

Starting up was a bit financially challenging. More so, people have issues paying for our services because of the ideology they hold about the gospel. They believe anything related to the gospel should be free. They however fail to see the business aspect of it. The epileptic state of power in the nation is another challenge. The cost of data in this part of the world is challenging coupled with the sometimes poor network service. Also, because of the desire to please everybody and give them equal access to the brand, we are forced to sometimes publish contents that are considered amateur, which may not be a good promotion for the brand.

CHALLENGES FACED BY LOCAL TECH-PRENUERS

The biggest challenge faced by local tech entrepreneurs would be lack of an enabling environment. By this, I mean financial constraints, power, strict competitions from the big names in the industry, and poor support from the government.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Behind the scene, we are working on quite a number of projects that I wouldn’t want to share for now. But once we start, you all would know.

TOP 3 SKILLS NEEDED BY AN ENTREPRENEUR

An entrepreneur must be very creative in whatever field they find themselves.

They must be able to think outside the box, they must have good interpersonal relationship and communication skills.

An entrepreneur must be able to recognize opportunities and exhibit respect for people.

FINAL WORDS

It doesn’t matter where you are coming from or where you are now, what matters most is what you have in the inside of you and how passionate you are about what you intend to do. Do not judge your situation by the present. Set you mind to achieving your dream irrespective of your financial state. Be very tenacious and never give up. You have the power to change your life, your world and your story.